Bardhaman district
|SexRatio = 922 |Tehsils = |LokSabha = Asansol, Bardhaman-Durgapur, Bardhaman Purba (SC), Bolpur (SC) (partly), Bishnupur (SC) (with one assembly segment in the district) |Assembly = Pandabeswar, Raniganj, Jamuria, Asansol Uttar, Asansol Dakshin, Kulti, Barabani, Bardhaman Uttar (SC), Bardhaman Dakshin, Monteswar, Bhatar, Galsi (SC), Durgapur Purba, Durgapur Paschim, Raina (SC), Jamalpur (SC), Kalna (SC), Memari, Purbasthali Uttar, Purbasthali Dakshin, Katwa, Ketugram, Mangalkot, Ausgram (SC), Khandaghosh (SC) |Highways = NH 2, Grand Trunk Road, Panagarh–Morgram Highway, NH 60 |Website = http://bardhaman.nic.in/ }} Bardhaman district ( ) (also spelled as Burdwan or Burdhman) is a district in West Bengal. The headquarter of the district is Bardhaman, though it houses other important industrial towns like Durgapur and Asansol. In Medieval history, this area was known as Sharifabad. It is the seventh most populous district in India (out of 640). Etymology The name of Bardhaman city, which lends its name to the district, comes from the 24th Jain monk Tirthankar Mahavir Bardhaman. Probably Mahavir was from a village name Ajahapur situated close to the NH2, near Memari Railway Station. History Bardhaman was important during Medieval age and while India was under British rule. Prehistory This fertile land was important even during the Gupta and Sena rule. Medieval age During the Mughal age, from the thirteenth century, the city of Bardhaman was known as Sharifabad. It was an important administrative center. When Sufi pir Baharam had to leave Delhi because of the plots of Abul Fazal and Faizi, he came to Sharifabad. His tomb is visited by both Muslims and Hindus. Modern era Post independence, Bardhaman became an important economic hub in West Bengal because of its location, and also due to the natural resources available in the region (esp Coal.) Geography Bardhaman District has an area of 7,024 km², and a population of 6,895,514 (2001 census). It is bounded on the north by Birbhum and Murshidabad districts, on the east by Nadia District, on the southeast by Hooghly District, on the southwest by Bankura and Purulia districts, and on the northwest by Dhanbad district of Jharkhand. The district has six sub-divisions, Asansol, Sadar (North), Sadar (South), Durgapur, Kalna, and Katwa. It was amongst the first districts to have a 100% literacy rate. Bardhaman is the most advanced district in West Bengal both industrially and agriculturally. The eastern part is enriched by the alluvial soil of Bhagirathi River (minor stream of river Ganges), and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in West Bengal. The western part of the district, chiefly Asansol, is rich in coal and other mineral resources. This part is highly industrialised and contains various factories based on iron and steel processing, as well as many cement factories. Durgapur, Burnpur, and Kulti are in the western part of the district. It also contains power plants at Durgapur and Dishergarh. Subdivisions Administrative divisions The district comprises six subdivisions: Asansol, Durgapur, Kalna, Katwa, Bardhaman Sadar North and Bardhaman Sadar South. Asansol subdivision consists of Asansol municipal corporation, three municipalities (Raniganj, Jamuria and Kulti) and four community development blocs: Barabani, Jamuria, Raniganj and Salanpur. Durgapur subdivision consists of Durgapur municipal corporation and five community development blocs: Durgapur—Faridpur, Galsi–I, Kanksa, Andal and Pandabeswar. Kalna subdivision consists of Kalna municipality and five community development blocks: Kalna–I, Kalna–II, Manteswar, Purbasthali–I and Purbasthali–II. Katwa subdivision consists of two municipalities (Katwa and Dainhat) and five community development blocks: Katwa–I, Katwa–II, Ketugram–I, Ketugram–II and Mongolkote. Bardhaman Sadar North consists of two municipalities (Bardhaman and Guskara) and six community development blocks: Ausgram — I, Ausgram–II, Bhatar, Burdwan–I, Burdwan–II and Galsi–II. Bardhaman Sadar South subdivision consists of Memari municipality and six community development blocks: Khandaghosh, Jamalpur, Memari–I, Memari –II, Raina–I and Raina–II. Bardhaman is the district headquarters. There are 32 police stations, 31 development blocks, 2 municipal corporations, 9 municipalities, 277 gram panchayats and 2438 villages in this district. Other than municipality area, each subdivision contains community development blocs which in turn are divided into rural areas and census towns. In total there are 66 urban units: 2 municipal corporations, 9 municipalities and 55 census towns. Asansol, Kulti, Bhanowara, Jamuria, Jemari, Raniganj, Putsuri, Amkula, Murgathaul, Raghunathchak and Ballavpur together forms Asansol urban agglomeration (UA). Katwa and Panuhat forms Katwa UA, whereas Kalna and Uttar Goara forms the Kalna UA. Asansol subdivision * Asansol municipal corporation. * Three municipalities: Raniganj, Jamuria and Kulti. * Barabani community development bloc consists of rural areas with 8 gram panchayats and two census towns: Pangachhiya (B) and Bhanowara. * Jamuria community development bloc consists of rural areas with 10 gram panchayats and three census towns: Parasia, Kenda and Kunustara. * Raniganj community development bloc consists of rural areas with 6 gram panchayats and ten census towns: Banshra, Chelad, Ratibati, Chapui, Jemari (J.K. Nagar Township), Amkula, Murgathaul, Raghunathchak, Ballavpur and Belebathan. * Salanpur community development bloc consists of rural areas with 11 gram panchayats and three census towns: Chittaranjan, Hindusthan Cables Town and Jemari. Durgapur subdivision * Durgapur municipal corporation * Durgapur—Faridpur community development bloc consists of rural areas with 6 gram panchayats and three census towns: Sarpi, Mandarbani and Sirsha. * Galsi–I community development bloc consists of rural areas with 9 gram panchayats and one census town: Sukdal. * Kanksa community development bloc consists of rural areas with 7 gram panchayats and three census towns: Prayagpur, Debipur and Kanksa. * Andal community development bloc consists of rural areas with 8 gram panchayats and eleven census towns: Mahira, Kajora, Harishpur, Palashban, Dignala, Andal, Baska, Siduli, Khandra, Ukhra and Dhandadihi. * Pandabeswar community development bloc consists of rural areas with 6 gram panchayats and ten census towns: Kendra Khottamdi, Ramnagar, Dalurband, Bilpahari, Nabgram, Sankarpur, Haripur, Konardihi, Bahula and Chhora. * The census towns Chak Bankola and Parashkol are both partly in Andal block and partly in Pandabeswar block. Kalna subdivision * One municipality: Kalna * Kalna–I community development bloc consists of rural areas with 9 gram panchayats and two census towns: Uttar Goara and Dhatrigram. * Kalna–II community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 8 gram panchayats. * Manteswar community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 13 gram panchayats. * Purbasthali–I community development bloc consists of rural areas with 7 gram panchayats and three census towns: Srirampur, Hatsimla and Gopinathpur. * Purbasthali–II community development bloc consists of rural areas with 10 gram panchayats and one census town: Patuli. Katwa subdivision * Two municipalities: Katwa and Dainhat. * Katwa–I community development bloc consists of rural areas with 9 gram panchayats and one census town: Panuhat. * Katwa–II community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 7 gram panchayats. * Ketugram–I community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 8 gram panchayats. * Ketugram–II community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 7 gram panchayats. * Mongolkote community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 15 gram panchayats. Bardhaman Sadar North subdivision * Two municipalities: Bardhaman and Guskara. * Ausgram–I community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 7 gram panchayats. * Ausgram–II community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 7 gram panchayats. * Bhatar community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 14 gram panchayats. * Burdwan–I community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 9 gram panchayats. * Burdwan–II community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 9 gram panchayats. * Galsi–II community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 9 gram panchayats. Bardhaman Sadar South subdivision * One municipality: Memari. * Khandaghosh community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 10 gram panchayats. * Jamalpur community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 13 gram panchayats. * Memari–I community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 10 gram panchayats. * Memari–II community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 9 gram panchayats. * Raina–I community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 8 gram panchayats. * Raina–II community development bloc consists of rural areas only with 8 gram panchayats. Assembly constituencies The district is divided into 26 assembly constituencies: #Kulti (assembly constituency no. 257), #Barabani (assembly constituency no. 258), #Hirapur (assembly constituency no. 259), #Asansol (assembly constituency no. 260), #Raniganj (assembly constituency no. 261), #Jamuria (assembly constituency no. 262), #Ukhra (SC) (assembly constituency no. 263), #Durgapur — I (assembly constituency no. 264), #Durgapur — II (assembly constituency no. 265), #Kanksa (SC) (assembly constituency no. 266), #Ausgram (SC) (assembly constituency no. 267), #Bhatar (assembly constituency no. 268), #Galsi (assembly constituency no. 269), #Bardhaman North (assembly constituency no. 270), #Bardhaman South (assembly constituency no. 271), #Khandaghosh (SC) (assembly constituency no. 272), #Raina (assembly constituency no. 273), #Jamalpur (SC) (assembly constituency no. 274), #Memari (assembly constituency no. 275), #Kalna (assembly constituency no. 276), #Nadanghat (assembly constituency no. 277), #Manteswar (assembly constituency no. 278), #Purbasthali (assembly constituency no. 279), #Katwa (assembly constituency no. 280), #Mangalkot (assembly constituency no. 281) and #Ketugram (SC) (assembly constituency no. 282). Ukhra, Kanksa, Ausgram, Khandaghosh, Jamalpur and Ketugram constituencies are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Kulti, Barabani, Hirapur, Asansol, Raniganj, Jamuria and Ukhra constituencies are part of Asansol (Lok Sabha constituency). Durgapur — I, Durgapur — II, Kanska and Galsi are assembly segments of Durgapur (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains three assembly segments from Bankura district. Bhatar, Bardhaman North, Bardhaman South, Khandaghosh, Raina, Jamalpur and Memari are assembly segments of Burdwan (Lok Sabha constituency). Kalna, Nadanghat, Manteswar, Purbasthali and Katwa are assembly segments of Katwa (Lok Sabha constituency), which also contains two assembly constituencies from Hooghly district. Ausgram and Mangalkot are part of Bolpur (Lok Sabha constituency), which has five other assembly segments from Birbhum district. Ketugram constituency is part of Berhampore (Lok Sabha constituency), which contains six other assembly segments from Murshidabad district. Impact of delimitation of constituencies As per order of the Delimitation Commission in respect of the delimitation of constituencies in the West Bengal, the district will be divided into 25 assembly constituencies: #Khandaghosh (SC) (assembly constituency no. 259), #Bardhaman Dakshin (assembly constituency no. 260), #Raina (SC) (assembly constituency no. 261), #Jamalpur (SC) (assembly constituency no. 262), #Manteswar (assembly constituency no. 263), #Kalna (SC) (assembly constituency no. 264), #Memari (Vidhan Sabha constituency) (assembly constituency no. 265), #Bardhaman Uttar (SC) (assembly constituency no. 266), #Bhatar (assembly constituency no. 267), #Purbasthali Dakshin (assembly constituency no. 268), #Purbasthali Uttar (assembly constituency no. 269), #Katwa (assembly constituency no. 270), #Ketugram (assembly constituency no. 271), #Mangalkot (assembly constituency no. 272), #Ausgram (SC) (assembly constituency no. 273), #Galsi (SC) (assembly constituency no. 274), #Pandaveswar (Vidhan Sabha constituency) (assembly constituency no. 275), #Durgapur Purba (assembly constituency no. 276), #Durgapur Paschim (assembly constituency no. 277), #Raniganj (Vidhan Sabha constituency) (assembly constituency no. 278), #Jamuria (assembly constituency no. 279), #Asansol Dakshin (Vidhan Sabha constituency) (assembly constituency no. 280), #Asansol Uttar (Vidhan Sabha constituency) (assembly constituency no. 281), #Kulti (assembly constituency no. 282) and #Barabani (assembly constituency no. 283). Khandaghosh, Raina, Jamalpur, Kalna, Bardhaman Uttar, Ausgram and Galsi constituencies will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Khandaghosh constituency will be part of Bishnupur (Lok Sabha constituency), which will contain six other assembly segments from Bankura district. Raina, Jamalpur, Kalna, Memari, Purbasthali Dakshin, Purbasthali Uttar and Katwa assembly constituencies will form the Bardhaman Purba (Lok Sabha constituency), which will be reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates. Bardhaman Dakshin, Manteswar, Bardhaman Uttar, Bhatar, Galsi, Durgapur Purba and Durgapur Paschim will form the Bardhaman-Durgapur (Lok Sabha constituency). Pandabeswar, Raniganj, Jamuria, Asansol Dakshin, Asansol Uttar, Kulti and Barabani constituencies will form the Asansol (Lok Sabha constituency). Ketugram, Mangalkot and Ausgram will be part of Bolpur (Lok Sabha constituency), which will contain four other assembly segments from Birbhum district. Demographics According to the 2011 census Bardhaman district has a population of 7,723,663, roughly equal to the nation of Switzerland or the US state of Virginia. This gives it a ranking of 7th in India (out of a total of 640). The district has a population density of . Its population growth rate over the decade 2001-2011 was 12.01 %. Barddhaman has a sex ratio of 943 females for every 1000 males, and a literacy rate of 77.15 %. Gallery File:108 shiv temple.jpg|108 shiv temple File:Bardhaman Church.jpg|Bardhaman Church File:Bardhaman Railway Station.jpg|Bardhaman Railway Station File:Bharati Bhaban.jpg|Bharati Bhaban File:Bokababapalashsmall.jpg|Bokababapalashsmall File:Bokababasmall.jpg|Bokababasmall File:Burdwan municipal high school.jpg|Burdwan Municipal High School File:Burdwan Palace.jpg|Burdwan Palace File:Burdwan Medical College Hospital.jpg|Burdwan Medical College Hospital File:B.U. administrative complex gate.jpg|Burdwan University administrative complex gate, Rajbati File:B.U. academic complex south gate.jpg|Burdwan University academic complex, South Gate File:Burnpur bungalow.jpg|Burnpur bungalow File:Burnpur Nehru Park 2.jpg|Burnpur Nehru Park 2 File:Burnpur Nehru Park 3.jpg|Burnpur Nehru Park 3 File:Burnpur Nehru Park 4.jpg|Burnpur Nehru Park 4 File:Burnpur Nehru Park 5.jpg|Burnpur Nehru Park 5 File:Burnpur Nehru Park 6.jpg|Burnpur Nehru Park 6 File:Durgapur.JPG|Durgapur File:Golapbag.jpg|Golapbag File:Meghnad Saha Planetarium.jpg|Burdwan Meghnad Saha Planetarium File:CoA Burdwan.png|CoA Burdwan File:Curzon Gate.jpg|Curzon Gate File:Damodar River.jpg|Damodar River File:Durgapur Steel Plant.jpg|Durgapur Steel Plant File:Sarbamangala temple.jpg|Sarbamangala Temple File:Queen Elizabeth at Durgapur.jpg|Queen Elizabeth at Durgapur References External links * Bardhaman District official web site * [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V09_097.gif Bardhaman District, The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 9, p. 91.] Category:Districts of West Bengal Category:Bardhaman district Category:Coal mining districts in India Category:Minority Concentrated Districts in India